Summit pulled into port with a dead whale

[gizmo]

The majestic 2,000-passenger cruise ship Summit pulled into port in Seward, Alaska, with a dead whale unceremoniously dangling from its bulbous bow.

The 25- to 30-foot long whale was spotted by longshoremen after the vessel was tied up at the Seward dock, federal investigators told the Anchorage Daily News.

The whale, tentatively identified as a humpback, was removed from the ship and towed by a tugboat Saturday afternoon to a beach in nearby Thumb Cove.

A necropsy would determine whether the whale was struck by the Summit or if it was already dead and floating when the ship picked it up, officials said. Testing should also reveal if the whale died from being hit by the ship, a predatory attack or of natural causes.

Humpback whales are an endangered species protected under several federal laws, Barbara Mahoney, an Alaska marine mammal specialist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, told the Daily News.

[happy cruzer]

I would like to know what they find out.

 

wouldn't the captain or crew notice that the ship was not performing normally??

[kryos]

wouldn't the captain or crew notice that the ship was not performing normally??

Who's to say the ship wasn't performing normally?

 

There are fish ... mammals ... whales ... dolphins, etc. in the ocean. It's inevitable that a ship is bound to hit and maybe even kill some, even if they are "endangered species." I'd rather see them accidently hit a whale than a human being.

 

Shame for the whale, but hey ... ship happens.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[gizmo]

There is a pix on the X board.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=400215

 

Very sad.

[RevNeal]

I'm trying to remember ... was it the old Noordam or was it the Nieuw Amsterdam that had this happen about 10 years ago?

[Copper10-8]

I'm trying to remember ... was it the old Noordam or was it the Nieuw Amsterdam that had this happen about 10 years ago?

 

I think it was the Noordam. This stuff happens occasionaly. An RCI ship picked one up last year. Not much they can do about it especially if the animal is dead already

[Tinknock50]

Who's to say the ship wasn't performing normally?

 

There are fish ... mammals ... whales ... dolphins, etc. in the ocean. It's inevitable that a ship is bound to hit and maybe even kill some, even if they are "endangered species." I'd rather see them accidently hit a whale than a human being.

 

Shame for the whale, but hey ... ship happens.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

You are so right on , Rita :)

 

An endangered species is not that threatened by the occasional death.

They aren't going to live a thousand years because they avoided getting hit by a ship. Now if something like this happened every week , I would be concerned.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I just wish I hadn't clicked on the link. This stuff just gets me so upset. It's no one's fault ... I know stuff like this happens. But I'm just silly and it just tears my heart out.

[Copper10-8]

I just wish I hadn't clicked on the link. This stuff just gets me so upset. It's no one's fault ... I know stuff like this happens. But I'm just silly and it just tears my heart out.

 

 

Nothing wrong with feeling that way. It just proves you care about animals! Whales are usually able to avoid ships, especially large ones (ships). This one might have been sick or even deceased already when it made contact with Summit

[Krazy Kruizers]

Read about it on the X board on Monday.

 

Our newspapers actually carried the story as well.

 

Very sad.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Nothing wrong with feeling that way. It just proves you care about animals! Whales are usually able to avoid ships, especially large ones (ships). This one might have been sick or even deceased already when it made contact with Summit

 

Thanks, John, and welcome home:) . You're right... I'm a pushover with any animal. I think I'll go with your thought ... that there was something wrong with him anyway. I just see them all as so helpless. Here in Florida our manatees are always getting torn up by propellers, etc. Really sad.

[shipcafe]

HAL, however, had taken a proactive stand to avoid such situations . . . .

 

Holland America Line received the Conservation Partnership Award for taking the initiative to develop and promote the adoption of whale avoidance measures as the international cruise industry standard. The company’s dedication to protect whales, regardless of its affect on the financial bottom line, is at the forefront of marine mammal conservation among the cruise line industry. Holland America Line has made its avoidance measures and training program available to the public and cruise line industry to promote the adoption of this stewardship practice.

[DCT61]

Taking the history of the "m" class ships into account, if the Summit were performing normally, it would be in drydock.

[happy cruzer]

I like the idea that HAL is doing something about to avoid whales. I'm sure it's not easy to do.

 

About my early handling normally comment, what I was curious about was if the bulb makes a difference would dragging something around 30 feet long matter too? Maybe it would not be noticeable?

 

Drydock=normal:o , very funny.

[basso]

I'm in Anchorage now, having disembarked from the Coral Princess Monday. The local newspapers stated it was not known if the whale was alive when hit and that veterinarians were going to do an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

 

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